Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Roman Starovoit from his post as transport minister, according to a decree published on the Kremlin’s website.
No official reason was given for the dismissal.
The post may be filled by Andrey Nikitin, the current deputy transport minister and former governor of the Novgorod region, according to sources familiar with the personnel changes who spoke to Vedomosti. They said the reshuffle had been in the works for several months. Sources who spoke to Meduza also named Nikitin as the most likely candidate for the job, though this has not been officially confirmed.
Starovoit had served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024. Before that, he was governor of the Kursk region, a position he held from October 2018. He was succeeded by Alexey Smirnov, who was arrested in April on charges related to kickbacks during the construction of fortifications on the border with Ukraine. The region is now headed by former State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein.